After nearly a century
of hoping that they had made the right decision, the Town of Carrborro
has finally decided to admit defeat and discontinue the "open
neighborhood" program.

The Open Neighborhood
policy that was based on the pre-automobiles don't come before humans
mentality has finally been shut down. Since the horses carried Carrboro
residents through the town, there has been a belief that all neighborhoods
should be connected so that a real feeling of community is developed
between the residents. It may have worked in the old days, but in
the 21st Century it is recognized as a dismal failure as nothing
more than a wedge issue that builds walls between the residents
of the community and the car drivers using the road as a shortcut.

"If anyone thinks
this policy has brought the community together, they're nuts!",
gasped one resident as the fumes from a sputtering Volkswagen Diesel
chugging through the neighborhood completely surrounded him. "The
only thing these open roads have done is encouraged high speed car
flights on James Street and High
Street. The day the streets are closed to through traffic is
the day I'll give the mayor a great big wet kiss on the lips."

Well, Mr. Mayor, you
may want to keep a bottle of hydrogen Peroxide in your pocket because
a monumental decision has been made. The James Street Throughway
has now been closed as the Weaver
Street inspired brick wall has been completed. No cars can pass
through, only pedestrians and bike riders, which is the way it should
be.

Part of the reason the
policy failed was that no one knew exactly what the policy was supposed
to accomplish. Some town officials thought it would foster neighbors
walking through neighborhoods and meeting with other neighbors while
others thought it would ease the traffic on the main thoroughfares.
The truth is that it did little to ease congestion on the main streets
and in fact did little to encourage neighbors to walk and ride bicycles
since they were afraid that they'd get run over by the friendly
neighborhood race cars frantically trying to save time by taking
the shortcut. On top of that, it actually created more of a traffic
problem as the neighbors who would ordinarily walk through the neighborhoods,
now drive, as a matter of self-defense.

Some drivers have complained
that the large wall is a safety hazard to speeding cars, but large
words warning the drivers of the impending wall should give them
plenty of time to come to a stop before smashing into the wall.
The High Street Wall will be complete shortly.

The Carroboro News applauds
the Carrboro Town Government for making this bold and progressive
move that makes our children safer.